Verizon has officially announced the impending launch of its shared data plans on June 28, and at first glance, they make look a little confusing:

The reality is much simpler (check out this PDF - it's better). The "Share Everything" plan, as it's called, starts out on the premise that you are required to choose unlimited voice and text messaging. Not bad.

Then, you're required to select a data plan based on your needs. If, for example, you have 2 subscribers on your line, 4GB is probably a good place to start. That sets your baseline bill at $70. Then, you calculate the total cost of the bill with the number of connected devices you'll be using on the network.

If you have two subscribers with a total of two smartphones, that's $40 apiece, and added to the $70 you'll pay for that 4GB data package, totals out at $150 per month. That $150 will get you unlimited voice, text/mms, and 4GB of shared data between you (that's not 4GB per person - it's 4GB total). Adding a tablet would cost you an additional $10 per month. A hotspot device (a Jetpack) would be $20. Got it? Verizon has also axed fees for using your phone or tablet as a mobile hotspot, and that functionality is now included (as supported) for free with any smartphone or tablet on your plan.

It's unclear if Verizon's old individual plans will be going the way of the dodo (they probably will - the pricing structure implies it), but it seems obvious that the current "Family Plans" will no longer be offered to new customers, and we already know Verizon is planning to kill off unlimited when existing customers upgrade. The natural pricing structure of its tiered data plans will practically force most customers to opt for the "Share Everything" plan, as it will probably be cheaper than the alternative of individual tiered data plans for each person on a multiline plan.

This, of course, has multiline subscribers angry. But at this point, we aren't expecting Verizon to change its stance on the issue. Shared data plans are here, and they're not going away. As a note, the individual plan equivalent of a "Share Everything" plan with 2GB of data as currently priced would be $120 at Verizon, on the new plans it's just $100 - so it's at least cheaper in that regard.

Whether it's more expensive or less expensive depends upon an account holders particular account and the devices they have connected, and their current data plans. For example, I'm looking to save around $50 per month or more on this new plan.

wickets

Me too....the $600 savings will finance my razr purchase or a date or two haha

JonDroid

Yup - my current plan has one smart phone with 4gb data + 2gb hotspot, along with 3 feature phones, 2000 shared minutes and unlimited messages. I'd actually save about $30 / month and move from 2000 minutes to unlimited if I keep the same 4 phones. I haven't worked out the nrs yet, but at first glance it looks like I can switch everyone over to smartphones sign up for 6gb of data, and have a pretty good deal with unlimited minutes on all the lines.

Roberto

Times changes , We need to voice our opinions on verizon's Web site and let them know how we feel about this .

sgtguthrie

Call them, I did and they sent up a ticket. He also offered me an m2 (early upgrade) so that I can pre-order the s3! I wasn't even eligible for an upgrade until December :-) I guess I'll be fine for 2 years...we'll see after that...

Gggggggggggggggg

nice try i tried that. s3 doesnt come till july 9th and the plan is effective june 28th. guess what even if you pre-ordered you dont get to keep your unlimited. -speaking from experience. so i had to order the razr maxx

sgtguthrie

NNo, if you preorder by the 27th at midnight, you have already entered into a 2 year contract, and therefore keep your old plan ;-)

Ggggggggggggggggggggg

No you dont. I JUST CALLED yesterday. i had the pre-order also. i was told i will not keep the unlimited data plan. so i had to cancel my pre-order and go with droid razr maxx . just call them and find out for yourself.

http://twitter.com/strifejester Justin Ellenbecker

Actually they are saving me $80 a month. Hot spot and tablet charges going way down. If you only have a few devices yes for most people it goes up but those of use like me that have 8 devices when you add them all together it is a good savings.

sgtguthrie

YYes, but your Hotspot isn't unlimited anymore, you still only get as much data as you decide on for your Hotspot AND tablet ;-)

billcollier

Its more expencive for me, 3 data and 1 feature phones. Then I would have to be subjected to the uncertain data usage, and trust Verizons accuracy in keeping track. I'm sure change is in my future when its time to renew.

sgtguthrie

I'm guessing we don't have a start date yet... God I hope it's AFTER the gs3 launches!

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

They launch on June 28th, so pre-GS3. Forgot that part.

sgtguthrie

Well eff me! Then verizon won't even get 2 more years out of me or my wife! We're going to go Red Pocket Mobile then probably ;-)

Lou Stella

Verizon has stated (and I've gone through the process myself) that if you preorder a GSIII, you will have the ability to keep your unlimited data. You agree to the terms of the contract when you pre-order the phone, there is no agreement of terms when you activate the phone.

Eric Armstrong

So what does this mean for me, the subscriber with the individual plan? I pay $67 a month for 450 minutes and unlimited data right now. Does this mean I'm going to be forced to get unlimited minutes and text, boosting my price to $110/mo? That's not ok.

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

You won't be forced into anything until you upgrade your phone. I believe the old individual plans may still be available, but they won't save you any money. A 2GB Share Everything plan with unlimited talk/text and one smartphone is $90 a month. A 2GB tiered plan with 1000 messages and 400 minutes is like $85 a month. You can see why the latter option would be worthless.

John

I think your math is off. 1 smart phone at $40 plus 2gb at $60 is $100 not $90.

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

You're right, it is. Addition is hard.

Evan Reichard

But then, say, I'm on a family share and I have unlimited data but no one else cares about that in my family (I use over 20GB a month) -- I am fully willing to pay full retail if it means keeping unlimited. But what happens when someone else on my account upgrades? I feel like it would force me on a current single line plan effectively making everything cost more anyways (Because everyone else will eventually move over to the shared data plans but I wouldn't)

Would my portion of the family plan remain the same? Somewhat having a mix between current and new plans?

Lou Stella

Then you will need to spin your line off. You need to call Verizon's AOL department to do so. If one of the other smartphone users on your family plan were to upgrade, they would force the entire plan into a shared data plan. If you spin your line off, you can keep your unlimited data, and it will be an individual line.

Tyler Chappell

Ugh, this is horrible. Right now, me, my mom, and brother are all on the same account. Me and my brother have grandfathered unlimited, and my mom has 4GB for the $30, we have 700 minutes between the 3 of us as my mom does most of the calling, and the friends and family package and our bill is around the $200-$218 mark. In order for this plan not to be a total rip off, the 3 of us would need around 8GB of shared data for $80. Just because my mom and brother don't use as much data, there's some breathing room at least.

So for some people, this will be substantially more expensive, and for others it could be notably cheaper. =

Vsux

Screw you big red. Time to find another carrier...may jump to a second tier prepaid one. They charge 30-40 for EVERYTHING....you charge that just to start. Then add the data on top of that...again screw you.

sgtguthrie

It's more expensive for me because my wife and I both will loose our talk & text + unlimited data discounts. That's 40 dollars worth of discounts lost because they're dependant on unlimited data! Also, how much more will they rape you with taxes, charges, and fees??? GOODBYE VERIZON, NEXT TIME YOU DECIDE TO SCREW YOUR CUSTOMERS COULD YOU AT LEAST USE SOME LUBE??????????

Alexddupree

you can buy the phones straight out and keep your old plan

sgtguthrie

So they say, and I'm sure that will work for a short while. That's one hell of an expenditure when you're off contract and they can legally change the terms of your service any time ;-) I don't care if they say they won't, they also said we could keep our grandfathered data plans. How's that working out for us?

Morgman

Yea with the cost of any smart phone being $500+ I'm sure everyone is going to jump on that out of pocket. That and Verizon looses money if people dont go for the contract.

xmiro

Well now, we didn't think they're going to make it so majority of people actually save money :)

Tmo's bring your phone plan would be $79.99+$10+$10 for 2GB on each line = $99.99

Verizon would be $40x2 + $70 for 4GB data = $150

http://codytoombs.wordpress.com/ Cody Toombs

I don't really get why they are charging different amounts based on device type. I get why phones are distinct from tablets and hotspots, they are also getting calling minutes and messaging, that's fine. I don't understand why they are differentiating hotspots and tablets, or smartphones and feature phones. In the end, each group uses the same features. Hmm, ok, maybe hotspots are different since they let you side-step having to pay even more for possibly several devices, but it still seems like a bit of a crock.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZLOTEIADMVYKDQXQBWAO6P7XRQ Jim

Greed. Profiteering.

http://profile.yahoo.com/7GU4N7CVDBJXMZOBFO3DMIQZH4 J

I was a little confused at first, but then I thought...

Basic phones won't use as much (if any) data, so they'll be cheaper. While tablets & smartphones probably use roughly the same amount of data, tablets won't have access to the voice/messaging function. Same for the hotspots, except since they can host up to 5 devices, they're gonna eat data faster, so they cost more...

Of course, I suppose it doesn't really matter how fast a device eats through the data, cause once you've used all you got that's it...

http://codytoombs.wordpress.com/ Cody Toombs

What you said last is the whole point. It's shared data, so why does it matter that one device will use more than another? The electric company doesn't care what I've plugged in, they only care about how much I've used.

I totally understand charging on a per/device basis, that makes sense. I totally understand charging more for phones since they are getting more services. The whole point of shared data is that it shouldn't matter who is gulping down the data, just so long as you're paying for it. If you subscribe to that logic, there's just no reason that two devices with identical access to service should cost different amounts.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZLOTEIADMVYKDQXQBWAO6P7XRQ Jim

If I wanted to set my family up with 4 smart phones with data and unlimited messaging, this new shared plan saves me nothing. Actually costs me more if I choose the 8gig cap (2 gigs per phone, just like today). Sure, the new plans offer unlimited minutes, but we don't use the minutes we have now, so this is of no benefit.

A hotspot would not be $20. If you check the Verizon page at http://solutions.vzwshop.com/shareeverything/?intcmp=VZW-VNT-SE-PLANRECMND it says "Mobile Hotspot is included at no additional cost for capable smartphones and tablets."

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

That's for the app used on the phone/tablet, not a separate hotspot device. Read carefully - Jetpacks, which is Verizon's name for a hotspot, are $20/month.

Jrocker23

This seems to suck for me, I have 2 smart phones & 3 basic right now on the family share 1400 minute plan. If I was to move to this and then have to get data, I will be paying more and getting less data.. I may have to start looking elswhere & get used to crappy service..

br_hermon

I've got 2 smartphones, that's it and I'll actually be saving about $20 a month.

alexcue

Me too. Right now our plan is the fewest minutes, unlimited texts, one 3G unlimited smartphone and one 4G unlimited smartphone. That's like $175/mo. While I don't like losing the unlimited, our meters show we'll be fine with 4GB shared. That's a $25 savings. Even upgrading to 10GB would only be $5 more/mo for us. It's not the huge ass-pounding I'd expected, but I can see the outrage.

Mike Smith

Explain to me how two smart phones today each with the 30 dollar plan adds up to 4GB for 60 dollars and 2 GB under this new system is 60 dollars. What a rip off. Total BS

Freak4Dell

It's because you don't understand how this works. The new $60 includes the minutes and texts. Before, you paid $70 (or more) for the minutes, $30 for the texts, and $60 for the data (assuming 2 smartphones), for a total of $160. Now, you pay $70 for the minutes, texts, and 4GB of data, and $80 for the 2 lines, for a total of $150. So, if you had two of the 2GB plans before, you save $10 and gain unlimited minutes this way.

Well i preordered my gs3 and the guys at verizon said that since i did that I'd still have my unlimited. But this is ridiculous either way, my brother and I are the only ones in my family that have smartphones and we use roughly 14gb a month, this new data plan would kill us. I cant afford to be on this new data plan. I hope the guys at verizon keep their word.

Christopher Saylor

I wondered what they would do with 5 million plus Google Voice users no longer opting in to their horribly expensive text messaging plans.

The answer was apparently make them pay more.

This seems like a very poorly thought out decision by Verizon. While it may make things lighter on some users, there is a whole lot that are going to jump ship for cheaper plans. Unless this changes I'll be one of them.

The users that are trying to get into a data market at the cheapest price possible will remain doing so, and someone will offer them the ability to do it. The larger they make the price gap for those users, the more they will inevitably jump carriers.

JimC

This should be titled share more of your money with us for less service!!!!!

http://profile.yahoo.com/7GU4N7CVDBJXMZOBFO3DMIQZH4 J

1.) Anyone know what the 1 note indicator next to the Messaging column means?

2.) I wonder how long it'll take Verizon to realize their network can't sustain everyone having unlimited voice & switch over to a tiered voice plan... After all, there's only so much bandwidth available to send the voice through the air & it costs Verizon for each min that's sent, so... I don't see this being a feasible plan...

2b.) Speaking of... We know that in carrier speak, "unlimited" has catches.... So... Will I only be able to talk for 700min before I'm classified a minute hog & get throttled, since 95% of the customers only use less than 700min & they have to be fair to customers who may not use as many minutes as I - so everyone has a fair shot at making a call...

3.) I know there are apps out that'll count how much data you use, but they only handle individual devices... Any ideas on how to create an app that'll keep track between all devices on the shared account without eating up too much bandwidth "calling" each device or into Verizon on a regular schedule to see how much the other devices have used...

4.) Will double your data deals still be applicable under this? If my guestimations are right, we'd have enough data & be paying a just slightly higher bill, but could also have a tablet on the plan, if we could double the data...

John O’Connor

Am I correct in assuming that they will be calculating voice and texts as data from this point forward? It will be interesting to see how much data per minute a voice call will take (I'm sure it will be dependent on voice quality so when they switch to HD Voice like Sprint, more data will be eaten up faster) I can see the writing on the walls. They will make more money on customers and are luring everyone into a false sense of security. (It seems cheaper now)

I know that down the road many carriers will be going this route as far as all network access will be counted as data access.

As far as costing them/taxing the network for every minute of voice used, I will have to disagree with you. Voice and text utilize a fairly low amount of bandwidth as it is right now. It is usually the data that congests the network.

http://profile.yahoo.com/7GU4N7CVDBJXMZOBFO3DMIQZH4 J

Yeah, I know voice & SMS use very little bandwidth.... I was just being facetious.... Using the carrier's anti-unlimited data arguments and applying them to the unlimited voice/SMS options that are now present...

Personally I never understood why they have to get rid of unlimited data all together.... Just raise the price of the unlimited data plan so its economically feasible. Especially considering they claim 95% of their users never use more than 2GB/month...I know I've only breached like the gig mark three or four times in the almost four years I've had a smart phone... So I could go to a tiered plan if needed, but... I like having the "safety net" of unlimited data, just in case I should ever need it. If they went with like $10/gig from 2-5GBs, and $60 for unlimited... I'd be happy to pay the $60/month, from which, $20 would be used to counter my usage and they'd end up with an extra $40/month to use to expand the network. And I'm sure probably several thousand others would probably be in the same boat as I....

Stiggy

Suddenly sprints awful data isn't so bad. I just have to wait till 2014 to get proper lte.

Gggb84

Ikr hell sprint unlimited everything plan is 106

Morgman

Keep in mind sprint throttles your data after 2 gigs to a crawl loading a webpage is a task of its own at that point that's why I went to Verizon. But I do agree that paying more for less is stupid.

Justsuern

Sprint service sucks! My husband has it thru his work after having Verizon. Dropped calls. Lack of service. Would never go to sprint.

TCS65

It was almost a given that these new plans would go into effect before the launch of the SGSIII and I doubt pre-ordering your upgrade is going to save anyone's unlimited data regardless of what some CS rep said. There was just no way VZW was going to launch hundreds of thousands of SGSIII, many of which with unlimited data, without forcing upgrades to their new pricing structure.

longhornfan23

I actually pre-ordered the SG3 and was able to keep my unlimited plan.

Ggggg

you wont be longhorfan23 i did the same and called them up. i just got official word today since it comes out july9th and the plan is on the 28th you are screwed. i had to cancel my SG3 pre order and get the razr maxx

Morgman

You would still be grandfathered in to your old plan wouldn't you?

http://www.toysdiva.com Toys Samurai

I hope Verizon can answer this question:

If I bought a smartphone but I didn't want voice and text, and I bought it at full price, could I treat it as a tablet and thus, pay only $10 a month.

How can Verizon shamelessly charge me $40 instead of $10 if data is just DATA and I don't want voice and text on my smartphone, making it nothing more than a small tablet? Hell, an Android ICS smartphone runs exactly the same OS as an ICS tablet!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=635525837 Mitchell Mellin

Wow used to pay only $10 for a basic phone/2nd line. Now it is $30!!! If that person had a smartphone would only had to pay $30 for their own data plan. This is such a ripoff!!!

http://twitter.com/dynomike666 Mike

My question is how does this affect phone subsidies? If you have this plan does only one phone get a subsidy ever 2 yrs? Two? This would be a factor in this decision. And the fact that only Tmo has an non-subsidized plan option is ridiculous. I really want to stop buying subsidized phones, but it's just not economical.

Freak4Dell

Why would subsidies change? Each line has its own upgrade cycle, which is independent of the other lines, even if they do happen to fall on the same dates.

John Riley

So for me this is not a win, and will push me to a cheaper carrier, My current plan is ~73.00/mo. With the new plan, $40(phone access) + 2GB data plan = $100.00. So with the new plan I will be paying $27 dollars/mo more.

Bboykin87

I think the $30 charge for feature phones is to stop people from circumventing their upgrade period by adding a line to get a new phone and then changing the new line to a feature phone for $10/month

http://twitter.com/Antoniius Anthony Hallman

Hey guys help me stop this greedy ass company and sign my petition and tell everyone you can!

Even though this is for unlimited call / messages, the price is just now too expensive. If I am to get 1 smartphone with 3 feature phones with 2GB Data, it's $60 (data) + $40 (smartphone) + 3 x feature phones = $190

And I'd rather keep my unlimited data for the future then having unlimited call / message. I can almost do unlimited call / message with some app's if I have unlimited Data. In a country where the basis of the fundamentalism is individualism, now you like us to become like a socialism? where everyone shares the ration?. lol

DM

I am using AT&T, so this is not exactly a correct comparison, but I
will do it anyway. AT&T will sure introduce something similar, give
or take $5.

This may be beneficial to me only if they allow data block on feature phones and exclude them from data plan calculation.

breakerwannab

Screw you verizon, you already the most expenisve carrier by a wide margin and now they have the audacity to raise the price again for majority of the people on this panel, I currently pay $ 70 for 4gb and no text and now they want want me to now pay an excess of $ 100 for a measly 1GB and pay for text option for which I do not want or use, I cant wait for my verizon contract to expire and their stock to flop just like like netflix

Tim

It definitely sounds like an increase in price to a lot of people but I don't really get all the whining and complaining. It only affects you if you decide to upgrade your phone at the subsidized price and agree to a new two year contract. It's very simple, if you don't like Verizon and their new prices and you want a new expensive phone for cheap, take your business elsewhere.

i get the impression they're also trying to move people over towards smart phones for people that don't already have them. i know there aren't many people that still use dumb phones (probably none on here) but this pricing structure doesn't exactly favour them.

Nead Digger

Run by the (K) Mafia what else would we expect them to do. tjb

dave

With all taxes & fees I pay $200/month for my current vampire wireless service. If i switch to their share plans, i will be paying over $280/month to have 6gb of data to share. I have 3 smartphones & 2 regular phones. I have unlimited data on the 3 smartphones & probably use no more than 6-8gb total each month. I told the VW rep i dont understand how they charge you $40/month per smartphone & $30/month per regular phone claiming this is for unlimited talk/text/shared data, & then they turn around & charge you a monthly "account access fee". I told her I wasnt paying for same thing twice & that extra $80/month in charges is from added fees for services i dont use & they are reducing my data. I use google voice for free unlimited texting. Sales rep said can i help you with anything else today? Looks like its time to try straight talk as my contracts expire? any other suggestions?

http://twitter.com/dms2476 Dave Segebart

does anyone realize that by verizon making us pay full price for a phone in order to keep our grandfathered unlimited data instead of a discounted price or making us switch to there new share plan VOIDS THE NEW EVER TWO PART OF OUR CONTRACTS AND PROVIDES A LOOP HOLE FOR US TO CANCEL OUR CONTRACTS WITH OUT HAVEING TO PAY THE EARLY TERMINATION FEE..... I was told i could upgrade when i got the unlimited data program and recieve a discounted price. By forcing us to pay full price to keep plan this Verizon created a loop hole everyone is overlooking... New every Two is meant to renew contract with same plan unless you choose to change plans and allow a significant discount on phones for doing so.... NOT TO BE TOLD YOU HAVE TO SWITCH PLANS OR PAY FULL PRICE

Murphy19

I am going through this right now. I am being told I have to pay full price to keep my unlimited $9.99 a month data plan for each line and I have 4. This promotion was $20 discount per line, unlimited until 2038 as long as I didn't change my calling or data plan. Question I asked repeatedly when I accepted this unbelievable offer "I can upgrade phones and nothing will change." I was told no problem. Since having this promotion, I have used 2 upgrades, iPhones, with no problems. Until, I went to pre-order the iPhone 5, I find out Verizon has changed the rules. After speaking with 3 customer service reps and reading these blogs, it is quite apparent that Verizon customer service doesn't really know how to handle these complaints. One rep told me as long as I keep my phone I can keep unlimited. Who would agree to this until 2038...doesn't make sense. The rep told me you would be surprised how many customers keep their phones for 20 years...WHAT!? I asked about the 2038 expiration date too. I was told that was a mistake. They didn't really mean you could have the promotion it until 2038. I have always been a big fan of Verizon...but now I feel like Verizon is doesn't listen to their customers and could care less!

Miss Dee

I have 5 phones,1400 minute family plan, 1 phone has unlimited data @ $30 mo, 2 phones have 2 GB per phone @ $30 each and 2 phones that are plain texting phones @ $9.99 each per month. Verizon looked at the unlimited use and if I change to the Share Everything plan my bill will go up more than $100 a month. That's $1200 a year so, we will purchase at full price or go to another company even though I have been a Verizon customer for over 10 years.

ED

This is a total rip-off and has obviously created a lot of anger. I called a couple of months ago to see if the new plan made financial sense for our family. We have 3 smart phones, make fewer than 300 calls in a month, do a fair amount of texting and do not have much data usage (no streaming etc). The customer service rep did an analysis and told me that I would save close to $30.00/month if I changed. I told her to go ahead and make the switch. Guess what---my bill with UP! When I called to complain, I got a ton of runaround and they kept telling me that the bill looked correct. Failed to understand that I made a financial decision based on faulty information. Pretty sad when you go to the source to get the REAL information and are either giving bad info or lied to.

http://www.facebook.com/jimmy.hinton1 Jimmy Hinton

Why do you have to get internet if don't use it? That why I got a home computer for. Don't have time to get on the internet when I'm at work we are allow to have our phone in our hands when are there.

http://www.facebook.com/jenni.d.fleming Jenni Downey Fleming

I can't believe adding a line went from 9.99 to 30??? That's insane!!!!